Understanding each other
Why good people see the world differently, what the facts really say, and why meeting someone changes everything.
88.5 The Morning DriveIn Which We Wonder How Anybody Knows Anything
- Can a whole group of people be wrong about the truth? Collective truth is what a community knows together: language, history, science and shared faith. 2 min read
- How do I ask a friend about their religion without being weird? Ask because you’re curious, not to test them. 1 min read
- How do I explain other religions to my kids? Straightforwardly and early. Kids are naturally curious and don’t have the anxiety adults bring to these conversations. 3 min read
- How do we know what we know? Most of what anyone knows comes from five places. 2 min read
- How many Americans belong to each religion? Most Americans are Christian, but fewer than before. 2 min read
- I’m going to an interfaith wedding. What should I expect? Expect the unexpected, and be delighted by it. 3 min read
- Is faith a way of knowing, or just believing without evidence? In most traditions, faith means trust, not believing without any reason. 2 min read
- Is it OK to ask how to pronounce someone’s name? Yes. Always. 3 min read
- Should I bring food when someone dies? Almost always, yes, but check first. Most traditions welcome it. 3 min read
- What does ‘first generation’ mean? It depends on who’s using it. In the most common American sense, ‘first generation’ means the first in a family to be born here, the child of immigrants. 3 min read
- What happens in the brain when you pray? Prayer shows up on brain scans. Studies suggest focused prayer and meditation make the parts of the brain tied to attention more active. 2 min read
- What is a reservation? A reservation is land held in federal trust for a Native nation, what remained after treaties in which tribes ceded their original territories in exchange for smaller, defined lands. 3 min read
- Why are young people buying Bibles again? In 2025, U.S. Bible sales hit a 21-year high, and many buyers are young. 2 min read
- Why do people say ‘Indian’ or ‘Native American’? Which is right? Both are used. Neither is perfect. ‘Indian’ was a Columbus error (he thought he’d reached India), but it has been used for 500 years, is used by many Native people themselves, and appears in the names of tribal organizations and federal agencies. ‘Native American’ came into wider use in the 1970s. ‘Indigenous’ is often preferred in academic and international contexts. 3 min read
- Why do some immigrants keep their language? Because it’s who they are. Language isn’t just communication, it’s how you tell your grandmother you love her, how you pray, how you think when you’re exhausted, how you make a joke that actually lands. 3 min read
- Why do some people take their shoes off at home? Practical, respectful, and in some cases sacred, usually all three at once. 3 min read
- Why does getting to know someone change how we feel about them? Because a person is more than the group they belong to. 3 min read
- Why does my neighbor’s synagogue or mosque have security guards? Because houses of worship have been targeted. 2 min read